Former Iranian conservative MP Mohammad Mohammadi-Far (centre) fights with reformists in the parliament in Tehran. (AFP)

Tehran, Jan. 12 (Reuters): Angry Iranian reformists accused hardline foes today of threatening the country’s future and more MPs joined a protest sit-in after thousands of liberals were barred from standing in elections next month.

But senior officials said a compromise was possible over the bans by the conservative Guardian Council, a constitutional watchdog — a move the party of reformist President Mohammad Khatami said laid Iran open to foreign charges of tyranny. Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the last word on all state matters, said he would only intervene if the conservatives and reformists reached an impasse.

“If the issue goes beyond legal methods and gets to a sensitive point which demands the leader’s decision, we will act based on our responsibility,” he said on state radio.

EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana, visiting Tehran, criticised the vetoes, saying they would be difficult to explain within the EU.

Iran’s reformists are fighting for their political survival after the un-elected 12-member Council blocked thousands of Khatami’s allies from running in the February 20 parliamentary polls.

“(The conservatives) are paving the way for enemies who want to show the Islamic republic is a despotic state,” said a statement from Khatami’s League of Combatant Clerics, carried by the official Irna news agency. “Those who claim to be defending the Islamic system but ignore the vital role of the people... are threatening the Islamic Republic of Iran.”

At the parliament building in central Tehran, MPs continued a sit-in, having spent the night on carpets in an ante-room. Senior MPs and provincial governors have threatened to resign if the council does not reverse its mass disqualifications.

About 100 MPs were believed to be involved in the protest. One, Reza Yousefian, said the number had been swelled by MPs who had themselves been approved.

Khatami and parliament speaker Mehdi Karroubi are taking the case direct to the Guardian Council. Karroubi said he was optimistic a deal could be struck and urged MPs to have faith in legal appeals.

“Be careful not to foment tension,” he warned them. Demonstrating MPs released a statement that they would settle for nothing less than a completely free election. “We will not let the desires of a few turn the will of the nation,” said one, Ali Shakourirad.

The ISNA students’ news agency reported that the largest reform party had called on Tehran students, who often back Iran’s struggling reformers, to join a gathering later to protest about the Guardian Council’s move.